admin posted on July 14, 2010 03:01
We encourage you and your family to recycle. As a partner with Mecklenburg County resident of Matthews can now recycle additional items. Recycling should be put in your recycling bins and placed at the curb on your scheduled garbage day. At this time Matthews is not making the switch to rollout recycling containers. Only the City of Charlotte, Cornelius, Pineville and Huntersville are implementing these new recycling containers.
If your container needs to be replaced due to damage or if you need free additional recycling bins, call us at 704-847-3640 or email.
Overflow items can be placed in clear plastic or paper bags and put next to or on top of the bins. (Excessively wet paper and cardboard becomes contaminated and may not be recycled. Please cover the bin or put papers and cardboard in a clear bag on top of your of you glass, plastic and cans.)
What Can You Recycle?
Acceptable items for recycling are #1 or #2 plastic milk jugs, drink bottles, liquid detergent, soap and bleach containers; plus aluminum and steel cans, aluminum foil, aluminum pie and roll pans, and clear, brown and green glass containers. Lids should be removed and all food and other residue should be washed out. Cardboard can be recycled and should be cut into squares no larger than 3' by 3'. Paper items such as junk mail, newspapers and inserts, office paper, magazines and telephone books can also be recycled. Beginning July 2010 these items may also be recycled: all plastic containers except #6; rigid plastics such as toys, litter boxes and bucketsl empty aerosol cans, cartons and juice boxes, flattened cardboard, aluminum, glass, tin/steel cans, telephone books.
What Not to Recycle:
Non-acceptable items at this time are #6 plastic containers, pizza boxes, bottle caps or lids, plastic bags, shredded paper, plastic food trays and cups, ceramics, pots & pans, glassware, paper plates, napklins, batteries, light bulbs, wire hangers, clamshells or styrofoam. No hazardous or commercial medical waste may be put in the recycling containers.
Why not pizza boxes or other food containers? Foil, grease, paint, plastic or oil on food boxes or paper show up farther down the paper-making process, causing a defect that's an "oily" spot on newly formed paper. These spots don't print or glue properly and cause stains on the paper. This causes the new paper to be rejected and ultimately end up in the garbage.